Bay County receives $17,000 state grant to promote shoreline history

The Bay City State Recreation Area on Saginaw Bay.Jeff Schrier | MLive.com

BAY CITY, MI — Kayakers, canoeists, snowmobilers and
recreational enthusiasts are likely to benefit from a $17,000 state grant that the
Bay County Department of Environmental Affairs and Community Development recently
received.

The grant will help the county agency "close the gap" existing
in Michigan's Great Lakes Water Trails by making residents more aware of the
historical sites along the Saginaw Bay shoreline, Director Laura Ogar told the Bay County Board of Commissioners.

The grant is part of an ongoing statewide effort to put
a spotlight on Michigan's arts, history, culture, nature and recreational world. Local partners in the project include kayaking clubs, the Arenac County Parks and Recreation
Department, Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy and the Historical Museum of Bay
County.

"It'll be a great project," museum Director Ron Bloomfield
said.

Ogar mentioned the grant during the Tuesday, Sept. 3, Bay County Board of Commissioners' Ways and Means Committee. Her update included these other
projects:

A partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources to increase access to the Saginaw Bay. A stakeholders' meeting is set
for 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at the DoubleTree Hotel, One
Wenonah Park Place, in Bay City.

Bay County is obtaining permits for a Fall 2013 phragmites
treatment along the northern Bay County coastal area including Pinconning Park. Phragmites are an invasive weed.

Susan Vela covers government news for MLive/The Bay City Times. She can be
reached at 989-573-3439 or svela@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter and
Facebook.